The average amount of credit card debt a U.S. consumer can expect to pay over their lifetime is $387,985, according to a 2025 Life of Debt study from J.G. Wentworth. However, that number varies significantly depending on where you live.
Average Lifetime Credit Card Debt by State
If you’re a Jersey Girl living in New Jersey, your lifetime credit card debt hovers around $450,000. However, if you’re sipping iced tea on your porch in Mississippi, your lifetime credit card debt is closer to $330,000.
Which States Have the Most Credit Card Debt?
These are the five states with the most lifetime credit card debt (excluding interest charges):
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Alaska has the highest lifetime credit card debt average at $484,620, which is 22% above the national average. The state’s remote location is a key factor in the amount of debt accumulated, due to the costs related to fuel, food and transportation.
According to the cost of living index from World Population Review, four out of the five states that have the highest credit card debt are also the most expensive places to live in the U.S.
The top 10 most expensive states to live in are (D.C. is not counted):
— Hawaii
— California
— Massachusetts
— New York
— Alaska
— Maryland
— New Jersey
— Washington
— Vermont
— Maine
There is significant overlap, indicating one can influence the other.
Which States Have the Least Credit Card Debt?
These are the five states with the least credit card debt (excluding interest charges):
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Iowa has the lowest lifetime credit card debt average at $319,740. Interestingly enough, all five states with the lowest credit card debt average require high school students to take a financial literacy course in order to graduate.
How to Avoid Credit Card Debt
The simplest way to avoid credit card debt is to not keep a balance on your credit card. It’s a slippery slope that can quickly snowball into overwhelming debt.
To best avoid debt, you should:
— Treat your credit card like a debit card. Only make purchases on your credit card when you know you can pay off the amount right away. This forces you to pause and determine if something is a want or a need.
— Time major purchases. If you’re buying a large appliance or booking a trip, try to time it with what you have in savings or have allocated for your budget. Putting the least amount possible on credit will ensure you’re not drowning in interest.
— Consider deferred-interest products. Speaking of large appliances, some stores offer deferred-interest credit cards, allowing you to take advantage of a promotional period.
— Consider balance transfer credit cards. If there’s a balance hanging over your head with a high interest rate, consider a balance transfer credit card. Just know that you will likely pay a fee of 3% to 5% to transfer each balance.
[Read: Best Balance Transfer Cards]
If you already have some credit card debt — like most Americans — then employ a debt payoff strategy like:
— The debt snowball method. Tackle the debt with the lowest balance first, making the minimum required payments on all other debts.
— The debt avalanche method. Tackle the debt with the highest interest rate first, making the minimum required payments on all other debts.
— The debt blizzard method. A combination of the debt snowball and debt avalanche methods, the debt blizzard is best for consumers with a number of debt accounts and high balances. Focus on the smaller accounts first, paying them off until you have a more manageable number of accounts. Then, you shift focus and pay down your accounts with the highest interest first.
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The Highest Average Lifetime Credit Card Debt in Every U.S. State originally appeared on usnews.com
